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Dozens Arrested in Raids Against Luchese Crime Family

By A. G. Sulzberger October 1, 2009 4:08 pmOctober 1, 2009 4:08 pm

Mob leaders thought they were bribing the police to keep their gambling operations around New York City running, but in fact the protection payments went to undercover officers who were part of a two-year investigation into an extensive criminal enterprise, the authorities announced on Thursday.

After a morning raid, 19 people were indicted on federal felony charges, including a dozen who law enforcement officials said were connected to the Luchese crime family and were charged with racketeering. Most of the other charges relate to operating illegal gambling, sports bookmaking and loansharking businesses.

The indictment also charges that in 2006 and 2007, nine of the defendants tried to bribe a sergeant and a detective with the city’s Police Department, who were posing undercover as corrupt officers. The defendants were trying to protect illegal gambling operations around the city, said the indictment, which gives the names and addresses of a half-dozen gambling operations.

“Attempts by members of organized crime to bribe law enforcement into protecting their illegal gaming parlors turned out to be a bad bet made by bad people,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said in a statement.

Officials would not say what roles the defendants held within the crime family, a departure from the standard practice of state and federal prosecutors in New York. Aides to Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, and Andrew M. Cuomo, the state attorney general, would not explain why this case was being handled differently from the past ones.

However a law enforcement official who declined to be identified because the information had not been officially made public, identified three of the defendants as members of the Luchese crime family: Andrew Disimone, a capo; Dominick Capelli, a soldier; and John Alevis, an associate.

Also on Thursday, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, announced the indictment of 29 people, including various members and associates of the Luchese family, and four corporations for enterprise corruption, bribery, receiving bribes, extortion, narcotics and firearms trafficking, and illegal gambling. That also followed a two-year investigation, according to a news release from Mr. Morgenthau’s office.

Amazing how law enforcement hereabouts has become so adept at snookering bad guys and would-be bad guys. I have civil liberties reservations about some of the homeland security cases involving many of the latter, who seem like sad sack losers who couldn’t blow up a balloon, but the former deserve every snooker. Bravo New York Cops.

Between NJ & NY it simply put – no one has ethics in that area of the US.., its nothing but a dirty criminal haven.. When Obama & politicians really want to change things,,, get out of the real “Sin City. ” Bloomberg is a perfect symptom of bribery and racial divisions within that arm pit. Luchese indictments are nothing compared to the real corporate criminals who are getting off – AIG – Greenberg… Madoff.

New York is just a bunch of hype, thats it. Jersey is the most corrupt state in the Union, period.

That’s why California is the Nations greatest State.., once you move here you never go back to those corroded places… Now we should look to the new age with new enlightenment that comes from people who actually care about the end result., rather than the bottom line…

With Atlantic city and Vegas going strong..
huge gambling operations… and credit card
companies changing huge fines and fees and rates upwards of 20%, why’s the govt always on the backs of people just trying to make a living…

Moving to California is not a solution. People got to fix the community, not leave it. The problem with poor, crime ridden cities like Camden, Trenton, Newark, etc, are the greedy folk living around those areas, that have money, time, power, resources, and what have you, but they choose to use all that on their own house, family, community, self-interest, blah blah…

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